Developer Stories - Meet Clopedia

Early life

Like most people in my village, my parents are farmers.

We would grow rice, beans and peanuts, and raise chickens and cattle to sell and eat. I finished middle school with high marks for mathematics but I never went to high school. I remember wanting to become a doctor without really believing it, because I knew I couldn't afford to go to university and would probably have become a farmer too

Discovering Onja

At first, it was really hard to study at Onja. None of us thought we would be able to do it in those years. We couldn’t really speak English in the beginning, and class was quiet because we didn’t want to make mistakes. It was challenging with the technical side, too. Most of us didn't use computers before we came to Onja so it wasn’t just about learning coding, we learned everything from keyboard shortcuts to how to type. It was hard work but it was worth it. Now we are able to speak English, talk to international people, and work with international companies, which is actually amazing.

Jobs are really limited in Madagascar if you don’t have higher education. I know a lot of people who finish high school and then just stay home. They don’t have anything to do except farming. They just do what their parents have done. It would have been the same for me.

Exciting Future

My life has turned out to be better than I expected. I am not working on the farms, but I have a farm of my own and I am saving up for my future. I want to be able to provide for my family, especially my children. I want them to be able to go to school and get a better education than I did.